Brown Is a Color

It’s October and it’s time to embrace the idea that brown is a color, says Brooklyn garden shop owner Susanne Kongoy. She’s spreading the message by filling her normally lush Brooklyn shop, GRDN, with dried flowers.

Photographs by Erin Boyle.

Above: This fall, for the first time, Susanne and her team festooned the shop with dried instead of fresh flowers.

Above: Bunches of anise hyssop and mountain mint lend a subtle fragrance to the display, while brilliant yellow solidago takes on a richer golden hue as it dries.

Want to compare this look to when green is the color? See our earlier visit to GRDN in Brooklyn.

Above: Lotus pods curl like whimsical trumpets.

Above: Pink-tipped hydrangea bunches fill a bucket on the floor.

Above: Pressed fresh hydrangea flowers drying in a glass frame. The goal of the shop display is to show customers what can be done with flowers besides keeping them fresh in vases.

Above: Sculptural scabiosa pods makes a statement in a flower frog; no vase or water needed.

Above: When Susanne’s asked what flowers dry well, she recommends a hands-on approach. All fresh flowers die eventually, she reminds customers, encouraging them to experiment and let themselves be surprised by the results: “You’ve got nothing to lose.”